Bell had been very still other than that first initial step backwards to further hide in the shadows. He was content to watch and let Red handle the girl that had appeared, the vargulf wouldn't do anything too violent, not in town where they could get caught. Bell remained still even as another approached them, a man this time. Red could handle two easily, but then the man was asking for directions. Directions to his castle. A tinkling of bells filled the air from the alleyway as Bell tilted his head to the side, though only supernatural creatures, and maybe crazy humans? could hear this sound. Then Bell gently laid the woman in his arms against the ground, these others didn't need to know he had killed. Not yet anyway.

The sound of bells grew louder as Bell drew closer, finally stepping out of the shadows and next to Red. His eyes were narrowed, a look of pure agitation on his face. He glanced the girl over once, then eyed the man warily. "No. Stay away from my castle, you aren't welcome there." Bell had already had enough of uninvited guests for his tastes today, and hopefully when he returned that human girl and maybe Nate the crazy would be gone. Though Bell supposed even if Nate was gone, he'd come around again, he was always hanging around. He crossed his arms across his chest. He glanced at the girl. "I don't appreciate nosy people involving themselves uninvited in my business or in my home."

Red licked his lips, shrugging at the girl's question. "Nothing going on." He watched her intently, doing his best to block her path and her view. The shadows were dark but still she might've caught a glimpse of something. Red wasn't sure how well humans could see through the shadows, he'd forgotten he had ever been a human. Now a man was approaching, the vargulf stiffened slightly, then relaxed. Two people now, it was worse than just one, but he thought he could handle them easily. The man spoke of the castle, and immediately Red tensed. "No.." His head tilted to the side as he heard Bell moving, it stopped him from saying any more and he waited for the vampire to join him.

His master would handle this, Bell would take care of everything. For a moment they exchanged a look and Red nodded before he turned to slink off into the shadows. Bell was busy, so Red would dispose of the body, in a place where it hopefully wouldn't be found. They didn't need any of the rumors getting too out of hand with such physical evidence after all. Red reached the body in minutes, and draped her over his shoulders like a sack of grain before looking for another, sneaky way out of the alley. He would do his best to stay in the shadows.

Gwen wasn't sure where exactly to focus her attention. First, there was the new man who had suddenly appeared. And then, there was the one who had been hiding in the shadows, stepping forward and most definitely speaking to both the newcomers to town.

The red head crept to the back of the alley, to where the other man had been. She bit her lower lip. Would she be able to get past the purple haired one to see what was so important in that dark corner? Gwen twisted the gears on her bike, and tried to charge past the man blocking the way to the back of the alley.

She could only hope her bike was fast enough to wiz past without being caught. Gwen wasn't thinking too much about what she would do if she succeeded.

Usagi glanced in the direction of the two within the ally. He raised an eyebrow, this man owned the castle. He gently lowered his upper body in the form of a bow to the man. "Forgive me, I am not here to intrude...I have come to this place on business, not to cause you any trouble at all" he looked up at him, as he straightened his body. He wondered for a moment what he meant by uninvited guests, but said nothing about it.

Usagi was a man of poise, he had learned long ago to hone his manners and how to deal with people. It seemed this bit of buisiness would be more difficult to carry out however, with a difficult and unhappy host. He glanced at the red headed man, noting his movements within the shadows. "Allow me to introduce myself...My name is Usagi Ryouichi...I have come here on behalf of Levyathan" he said, slipping out a card before he handed it to the other. Across the white card, in beautiful script, would be the name of the company Orion and a phone number.

"I will be within the area for some time...if desired, it should not be to hard to find me" he smiled once more, "I am here to be of...assistance, so you have little to fear or worry about from me." The woman on the bike began to move, to which would have caused a lot of problems for both of the men before him. He decided to take a bit of charge of his own, as he made a move of his own before the red haired man need bother. The shadows within the ally began to slowly slink along the skin of the woman who the vampire had killed.

To any who actually saw, it might have seemed like something out of a horror movie, as tendrles of black wrapped around her, and slowly pulled her into the darkness of the ground. The body being disposed of effortlessly, before the female on the bike could get close enough to see what was fully back there. He smiled lightly once more, slightly amused by the guts this woman had within her. He was also curious of what would be the reaction of the other two.

This man was claiming that he didn't mean to intrude, but he was already intruding. At least in Bell's opinion he was. Now the girl had moved, the action was a bit unexpected, so she was able to make it past Bell, but even if he had expected it. To stop her might reveal what he was to these people, and that wasn't something he was ready to do yet.

The man was doing something as well, offering his name and a card. Well, he'd just let Red handle the girl then, and the dead body. "Tch. You can call me Bell." Bell snatched the offered card from Usagi's hand, looked at it, flipped it over to look at the back, then it turned it so he could see the front. He'd never heard of these people before, or this company. A slight noise behind him made Bell half turn.

Red stood there in the shadows with no human body in his arms or near him, and the shadows seemed to have moved some, but Bell wasn't sure. The girl on the bike had nearly made it to the vargulf, but there was no way her eyes could see as clearly as Bell's could in the darkness. The body was gone. The vampire turned back to Usagi. "What kind of assistance?" The vampire still seemed rather annoyed but slightly curious.


Before Red could do much with the body, shadows had wrapped around it and pulled it into the ground. He made a slight sound of surprise, and blinked, looking a bit confused for a moment. Then he turned, just in time to see the girl on the bike slip past Bell and come towards him. Well the body was gone, so there was nothing to be worried about really. Nothing for that girl to find here now. Red licked his lips and moved past the girl, making his way back to Bell's side. No doubt the girl on the bicycle would turn around and come to bother them once more, but right now Red stared at the man in the suit. Almost like a predator sizing up his prey.

She was half surprised to have actually made it past the mysterious man. Even more so by the innocuous scene at the back of the alley. Gwen stopped, and hopped off her bike to crouch down and look at the ground. She was sure there had been something ... Something odd going on. There still was. Maybe if she listened in on the men, she could find out.

Hands on her handle bars, the petite brunette walked back to the mouth of the alley, and stood behind the three men in an attempt to pass unnoticed. Or at least she tried to make herself easy to ignore.

Usagi's eyes moved back to this man before him. He had identified himself as Bell. A name that seemed to both suit him, and seemed out of place. He watched the ally for a moment, as the red haired man responded to what was going on, and the female moved deeper inside. Moments later, Bell was speaking to him. His eyes moved back to him. "We seek to broaden...connections" he spoke up, "for the moment, you may think of this as a gift if you will. I am here to be of whatever assistance that might be needed..." He let that thought linger for a moment, after what had happened mere seconds before. "If you see fit...we can work out a more...designated business agreement, but if not, I will depart with no strings attached" he said simply.

It was a rare and good deal. Basically, at the moment, Usagi was there to make good connections..to make the owner of the castle happy, and potentially work on some business. Since the business hinged on the customer being happy, if the other in the end decided to send him away, he would leave with no strings attached as said. He had already hinted at himself being more than met the eye with his little assistance to keep the woman from figuring out what was going on. His eyes moved to her for a moment, as she now attempted to slip by without notice. He chuckled internally, it was amusing once more. She believed she could do something so brash, then slip by without any conflict. Perhaps she could, these two men seemed to not wish to be bothered with her. He remained silent for a moment, his eyes remaining on her a bit.

Bell sighed, seeming more annoyed than before as he came to some kind of decision. "Tch." What kind of business though? Exactly what sort of business deals did this man conduct other than hiding dead bodies? Bell stared at him intently for a moment, then glanced at the girl as she approached. "Are you still bothering us? Get out of here, girl." He made a shooing motion and stepped to the side a bit, as if to give her more room to get by him with. "Red, make sure she gets home, safely." There seemed to be a bit of inflection when Bell said the word 'safely'.

His attention returned to Usagi. "You're really annoying, you know that? This isn't the kind of decision I can make on my own, since it would affect everyone else as well. That sucks. I'd sooner just have you leave." The expression on his face was one of annoyed disdain, then he was shrugging. "Come on then." Bell moved past Usagi and started down the sidewalk.


Red was watching the girl when she returned to where they were, but once Bell asked him to escort her home safely, his hand shot out to grab her upper arm in a tight grip. "Come." That single word was spoken in the tone of an order, Red's voice just barely holding back a growl. He gave her arm a slight tug, to speed her along, but he wasn't going to just drag her. That would be unwise. "We go, now." Another slight tug was given as he watched her expectantly. It was best if Bell dealt with that business man anyway, since Red didn't have that kind of authority. He was just a pet after all.

Gwen glared at the purple haired man when he tried to shoo her away. Her mouth was open to tell him just what she thought of his high handed manner, when a hand clamped around her arm. Surprised, she lifted her head to stare at the gruff red headed man. "Alright. But let me go first." She used her free hand to wave at her bike. "I'll have a hard time pushing this along with you holding on to one of my arms." Her voice was reasonable, but also held no doubt that she thought he would listen to her.

Usagi listened to the man before him, waiting till he passed to sigh slightly once more. Difficult indeed...this was going to be an interesting trip. He inclined his head to the other two, in a silent goodbye. Turning then, he followed the man named Bell down the street. "I do mean no harm...I apologize for any trouble I have caused" he spoke, keeping his eyes before them. He then slipped into a bit of thought, wondering once more why Levyathan had decided to choose him for this little mission. There were plenty of others who could have delt with this.

He was beginning to get a bit of a headache already from dealing with a man who seemed to not be please with much. Many would have been thrilled at the deal they had been presented with. It did make him wonder who else the other would have to speak to about this, but for now he remained silent. He would let the other strike up conversation if he desired to, or ask questions if need be. Usagi's eyes closed for a moment, as he took a breath. His shadow had returned to normal, now in its natural position as well. The eyes of it were white however, as if they were watching as well.

Bell scoffed lightly as the other apologized. "Apologies don't change things. You're annoying, and no amount of apologizing will change that." He shoved his hands and the card he'd taken in his pockets and shrugged a bit. "What kind of company is this company of yours? What exactly is the real point of this business deal? What's expected of us?" Yup, far too annoying for Bell's tastes, but Rose had a right to be involved in this, that was the only reason Bell was taking Usagi towards the castle.


Red frowned a bit as the girl told him to let go, shaking his head slightly. He had no intention of letting go of her. At least not until he was certain she wouldn't cause anymore trouble for his master. Red stepped closer to the girl, and reached around her to grasp her bike. He pulled it to him and readjusted his grip on it, and then hefted it up easily with one arm. "Come, now." It was almost a question, and he gave her arm another tug.

She tried to hold on to her bike. It was her prized possession, and her way of getting around town after all. But Gwen just wasn't strong enough. For a second or two, she stared at the red head, mouth open. Then she shook her head. This town had such strange people living in it. It made Gwen wonder if anyone remotely normal lived there. "Fine." The frustration in her voice was more for form then anything else.

She started walking across the street, glancing all around to see if anyone was staring at the odd pair. "What's your name? I'm Gwen." If she was going to be escorted against her will back to her house, she could at least try to find out a bit about the person walking her there.

He felt like sighing once more, the headache within his cranium was growing slightly with this male. He listened to his questions, before replying to him. He would have to allow his actions to speak from then on, hopefully the other would change his tune in time."We are an organization with connections around the world" he said, "we dabble in various areas...from simple business, to government business and even within more supernatural business." There was little reason for hiding that he knew more of what was going on around here than many others might. "Basically if you can think of it..on some level we should have connections" he moved onto the next question, what was the true reason of his visit.

"As I mentioned, I am here to be of assistance...whatever is needed, if things go well, then we can speak more on it" he said, following up with an answer to the last question, "nothing is expected of you, this entire exchange depends on making this beneficial and plesant to you.." He turned his eyes on the other, "as I said, if you decide to end it, I will leave...no strings attached, and you will not be bothered again. You have my word, as well as the companies." He could most likely guess the attitude would be coming with the reaction of the male to his words. The other did not like him so far, and he made that quite obvious. He had failed to even show any gratefulness for the assistance back at the ally, but it mattered little to Usagi. He was not here for his own personal reasons, he was here for the company. So he remained formal and respectful.

A company that had it's hands in everything? Bell wasn't sure how to think of that. This company seemed to have a lot of ambition. "Trying to rule the world through business connections?" Bell was half joking, though he still seemed a bit annoyed by this man's presence, then again, almost everything was annoying Bell today. Especially the sound of his own movements, it was really starting to grate on his nerves now. "Are you human?" Though at this point Bell didn't really care either way, humans annoyed him the most, but at this point he found everyone rather annoying.

"I haven't met any humans that can play with shadows like that, then again. I haven't met any non-humans that can do that. I suppose it was a good thing you did that though. Would've been even more annoying if that little girl had seen the body." He pulled a hand from his pocket and ran it through his hair, seeming a little less annoyed, he turned his head away slightly and mumbled his next words. "Thanks for that, I guess." That hand dropped from his hair and re-entered his pocket.


The girl seemed frustrated, but Red didn't care. His only job was to get her safely home, and that's what he would do. With emphasis on the safe part, though that was a bit odd. Though by safe, Bell had really meant for Red to just keep her away from the vampire and prevent her from following him. Some kind of business was being conducted and the vargulf was sure Bell would explain it all to him later. When the girl started walking, Red moved immediately, keeping his pace even with her's. "Red." That was all he said in response to her asking him his name, after she told him her name.

What an odd man. He was so quiet. It almost seemed like it was hard for him to talk, or at least to say anything that needed more then two words.

"So, you live in the castle?" She was certain she'd heard someone mention the castle. Gwen, on the other hand, rented a little house on the farther end of the village. The walk wasn't necessarily going to be a short one. She wondered how Red would react to that, once he realized how long his escorting job was taking. Surely he knew there was a reason why she needed a bike...

Usagi kept pace with the other, though gave him his space as well. "We have intentions of helping out those who live within this world...human and non human.." he said, meaning they did not descriminate baised on race or such like many others did. He lifted his eyes to the sky, listening to the question of if he was human. "No...I am not human...not anymore, as to what I am exactly however..." he paused, "quite the mystery indeed." He listened to the awkward thanks from the other, a light smile played on his lips. "Of course..I am here to be of assistance...not to cause trouble. It was better for all of you to avoid confrentation back there, as well as for this town." he closed his eyes once more for a moment, as a breeze passed by.

"We do not seek to destroy..." he said, "this town will not be harmed in any way. There are few places those outside the relm of mere humans can live...even fewer where they can exist in peace, we have no intentions of upsetting those balances." Usagi would see to that himself. A memory passing through his mind of hearing how a few places had been snuffed out solely because there were non humans living within their relms. He himself could not be considered human, he had little doubt that he would be certainly looked at and treated differently if people knew. Personally he did not care, but he also knew how hard it could be on those who merely wanted to live.

Was it so wrong to survive merely because one was not human? Did that mean they deserved to die? He looked at the man by him for a moment, many would say that due to killing, vampires were monsters to be hunted down and destroyed. Humans killed animals to survive. Vampires fed on humans to survive. There were few differences between the two, but it depended on who you asked. One could spin their reasoning to the moon and back if they desired. Did this man hate being what he was? Or was he accepting of it...possibly proud? It was not Usagi's place to ask, so he did not. He was there to keep the ones in charge of this place happy. If that was this man and whoever he was taking him to meet, then so be it. He would do his best to make this trip go well. He would do his best to keep these people happy, and to not fail Levyathan.

Bell raised a brow. "Peace and equality for all, eh?" He seemed a little skeptical of that, still his annoyance at the other was slowly wearing away. Today was just an off day, that was all. The man admitted to being non-human, and Bell wondered if Usagi could hear the noise he made when he moved, the vampire assumed he could. Every nonhuman he had ever met could hear that sound of bells. Sometimes it was so annoying it got him into trouble. The vampire was mostly wondering what exactly this man was. Not human, and he could control shadows, or something of that sort. It was interesting, but ultimately none of Bell's business, really. Though he was rather curious now.

"Tch." It was that sound of annoyance Bell made sometimes, he had made it when Usagi mentioned existing in peace. "Humans are terrible creatures, too bad we depend on them as a food source, I'd wipe them all out." There was a bit of anger under those words, and he grit his teeth some, holding back a growl. "This town is small, it wouldn't take much to kill them all, but we also have to be careful because it's small. It wouldn't take much for the rumors to get out of hand, and an angry mob with torches and pitchforks were busting down our door." Bell kicked a rock on the sidewalk, sent it skittering a few feet in front of them. "So for now, we exist rather peacefully alongside the idiots that inhabit this town. I have to admit, it is a nice place though."


Red was content to just escort her along in silence, but she seemed like she wanted to have a conversation with him. She was asking him if he lived in the castle. For a long moment Red did not answer her, as if considering how he should answer. Finally though he just shrugged. "Yes." He watched her for a few moments as they walked, wondering how far she lived. It didn't really matter, all that mattered was keeping her from following Bell while he talked business with that man. He readjusted his grip on her bike, but he didn't seem to be tiring of carrying it yet. He was a werewolf after all, and his muscles were better developed than most humans of his size and body type.

"So..." Gwen fell silent for a while. She glanced at her bike, and wondered if Red was getting tired of carrying it. Anyone normal would have at least started to feel some kind of fatigue by then. Her bike wasn't exactly the lightest. And yet, it didn't seem to bother the man one bit.

Her stomach rumbled loudly, making Gwen blush. "When we get to my place, would you like to stay for a meal? It's getting around time for that." It was the least she could do, for all the trouble he was going through ... Even if she hadn't wanted his help in the first place.

Nate nodded at her absently, taking another drink. There was a stiffness in his neck he didn't notice before. And it wasn't the old wound. It was the new one, bruising knitting under skin and coloring his face.

"Thanks," he muttered, placing the glass on the counter and rubbing his face. He turned to watch her for a moment, eyeing as she disposed of towels and sprayed the air.

"I'm...I'm Nate, by the way," he muttered, the sound low. "Sorry about this...really." Guilt was fluttering through him. The pain, nausea, the headaches, and the drop from the fight combined to give him this.

That and her hospitality. A memory flashed through his head, a black cassock and a kind face fluttering through his head. The blood that stained it did little to stop the fondness.

He sniffed, licking his lips. For the first time he waved a hand at the flies, not welcoming of their taunting here. Of their gentle tickling over his face as the danced over his skin.

"If you need any help...let me know..."

"So you dislike humans?" Usagi glanced sideways at him. "It is understandable" he said simply. That was it. He did not stand there and try to defend humans, or justify their actions. Honestly, he could see both sides of the story. He had lived both sides of the story, he was not going to force another so quickly to change their mind. Not all humans were bad, just as not all non humans were bad. But unless someone was ready to accept change or learning that, it was pointless and could cause trouble.

He was not here to cause trouble, and pushing the issue with this man beside him for now, seemed it would only cause more trouble than it was worth. He thought back to the ally, of getting rid of that body. Many would have begun to question him right there, his morals and such. Usagi was not a killer...no...he had vowed since an accident long ago, that he would never use his power so far again...ever. However, he had had little trouble disposing of what was already dead in the name of business. He had not known the woman...had any physical or emotional attatchment to her.

Perhaps that helped? He pushed the thought from his head, there was no point in lingering on that subject at all. "Many feel that wiping out humans would simply make things better" he said, "but once they are gone...will it truly be alright?" He was more wondering out loud than asking. Humans were only one of the races within the world. They were not the only one with tensions between them either, or who felt like wiping each other out would be the best option. Such feelings and thoughts had been around for centuries.

If humans were whiped out, wouldn't their place as food and more be simply whiped out as well? Or pushed on another race? Would killing them invoke action between other races who despise eachother, to simply do away with their enemies. A lot of blood would be shed, a lot of innocent and needless blood. Could someone really simply take out every man, woman and child, witout a second thought? It was a heavy subject to truly think about and go over, one that once more could cause trouble. So for now, he did not push the other.

"Humans are scum." That was Bell's response when Usagi asked him if he disliked humans. Though had it really been a question or more of a confirmation? It didn't matter. The vampire did glance at the other when he said it was understandable, what exactly did he mean by that? Had humans tormented him in his past as well? Bell didn't ask, asking would only cause him to talk about things he didn't really want to talk about. Then Usagi was asking that question, the one Bell often asked himself and pondered about when he was alone just before sleeping. That had lowered, those eyes dropping to the sidewalk.

"No. Things would get worse if we took out the humans, there would be no food. Also, humans are the neutral ground, the thing that keeps all of us so distracted that large confrontations between other races simply do not happen often. If humans were gone, it would set into motion a chain reaction of wars between us all, and the vampires would start it. We would hunt the other non-humans for blood and that would be considered an act of war." Bell sounded extremely annoyed by that fact. That was the conclusion he had come to, every time he pondered that question. "Still, it's fun to imagine brutally slaughtering the humans." Bell was sure that one day, someone would cross that line. It wouldn't be him though, for all his temper he did have some modicum of self control. Also he wasn't as stupid as he liked to pretend to be. "As much as I hate admitting it, we need those stupid humans."

Bell led the man off of the sidewalk now, cutting through some grass of a park or some such. It was a short cut that would take them faster towards the castle instead of walking all the way around to the side road and then the long castle driveway. Coming out of the side of the park would take them to a bit of woods, and then past the trees would be the edge of the driveway up to the castle.


Red eyed Gwen carefully as she spoke. Inviting him for food. Would that be alright? Would Bell get angry? The vampire might, but it was getting close to supper time, besides it was just food, right? Perhaps this Gwen girl wanted to be friends with him. Didn't friends share food? Red wasn't sure, he was silent for a long while, thinking it over. "Yes. Will have meat?" He questioned curiously as he looked her over. He only really ever ate meat, he could eat other things, but they did not taste as good to him. He shifted the bike again, not tired from carrying it, he was just tired of lugging it around. Still it wouldn't be nice to just have left it there and the walk was a long one it seemed. Still if they walked for another hour or two, he would begin to tire, but his stamina was greater than a humans so for now he was still fine.

She'd been lounging around for too long. Katerina sat up on the bed and pushed her laptop aside. She dug around her bag for her phone charger and plugged it into her phone into the wall. She changed into a clean pair of jeans and thick strapped tank-top since her other clothes had Red's blood on them, and a pair of loose laced ankle boots.

Katerina gathered up the dirty clothes and boots in one arm, and headed out of her room. She left her work on the bed, and closed the door behind her, making her way down the large hall to the stairs. Taking the steps rather quickly, Katerina headed down, sweeping her hair back out of her face, intending on finding the laundry asap.

((Short post, sorry! I haven't decided where I want Katerina yet. XD))

Usagi smiled, so, this man did have a brain about him after all. He nodded a bit, following his lead off of the path they had been following. Indeed, it would lead to a chain reaction that in turn could threaten to end everything. Death would become a norm, and the world would fall to hell. He was a bit amused by the other's still excitement at the thought of whiping out humans. "Even the smallest creature plays an important role within the larger picture" he says, a line Levyathan had spoken to him a few times before. It was always a chain reaction. Something always depended on something else. Take away that object, and you could very well criple entire races. If one thought about it, they would see how truly fragile the balance was within the world.

Things were constantly changing and threatening to be tipped. Nothing lasted forever, the world had thrived on the tipping of the scale and balance before. Many had paid the price, while it also paved the way for still others. It had been awhile since he had had a stimulating conversation, one that invoked such deep thoughts. It was a bit refreshing indeed. Usagi was used to having to lower his thoughts and ways of thinking, often simplifying it for others around him, especially humans. It had been quite awhile since he had been able to have a challenging and intellectual conversation with anyone other than Levyathan. The man challenged him, pushed his way of thinking. He was constantly evolving and moving forward because of it. He chuckled lightly under his breath, was this why Levyathan had chosen him for this mission in the end?

For some reason, she was more nervous about his answer then she had to be. This was after all a man involved in the suspicious goings on at the castle. Still, Gwen wouldn't have minded getting on friendly terms with him. He seemed ... nice enough, even if a bit talkative and gruff.

When Red answered, she smiled and laughed a bit. "I'll see what I can scrounge up. Is there anything in particular you'd like?" She had some chicken in the freezer, and some nice chunks of farm raised beef too. So far she hadn't been able to cook up any of the red meat. There was too much of it for just one person, and Gwen didn't want to waste it.

The path leading up to her house came into view. It was a little stone building, complete with ivy crawling up the sides of it, and an old fashioned roof and windows. "We're nearly there. That didn't take as long as I thought it would." The company had surely made the time pass faster then usual. She nodded towards the charming house, so Red would know that they were very close to her home indeed.

"Yea, but it's so damn annoying." He looked the other over for a moment, with an almost pout, then he shrugged, deciding that this Usagi wasn't quite as annoying as he had first decided. "Well, at least you're a lot less annoying than earlier." A hand had left his pocket to rub through his hair while he looked at the path ahead of them. It was more or less his way of apologizing for calling the man annoying earlier, it didn't matter to him if Usagi picked up on that or not though. He'd apologized, in a way, and that was all that mattered.

It didn't take long to make it through the wooded area, following a slight path that seemed worn into the ground from use. It wasn't used extremely often, but often enough for it look a little more worn than a simple deer path. They came out of the trees into some grass next to the long gravel driveway. Bell led the man to the driveway and started up it, they were near the bottom after all.


Red shrugged slightly as she asked him if there was anything in particular he would like. He had already told her he wanted meat. What else was there to want or like? For a moment he frowned. "Red meat is best." Was that what she had meant? Red wasn't sure, but that was what he particularly liked after all. When she spoke again, he followed her gaze to the cozy looking home. It looked sweet enough, and somehow seemed to fit the girl next to him. At least that was what Red thought. That bike was shifted slightly, his muscles just beginning to feel the strain of carrying it. Though only barely.

Once they were at the front door, Gwen slipped a pretty silver key from her pocket. 'You can lean the bike over there." She pointed to a spot by the entry, beneath one of the windows. She unlocked the solid wood door and slipped inside. Gwen held it open for Red, and waited til he was inside to close it.

She led the tall man to the kitchen, and quickly pulled out the meat from the fridge. It sizzled when she put it onto a quickly heated pan. In another one, she put pieces of potatoes, carrots and onions to simmer and heat together, all with a hint of delicious spices.

"What's it like, living in a castle?" Gwen couldn't quite figure out how to pull the quiet man into a conversation, any kind of conversation.